5 Recipes For Summer Entertaining From Jackie Kai Ellis

Mixing cultures comes as naturally to Jackie Kai Ellis as mixing ingredients. The owner of Vancouver’s Beaucoup Bakery & Café, where Asian flavors infuse Canadian and French fare, Jackie also runs gastronomic tours of Paris in her spare time. “My grandmother taught me how to cook without me even knowing it. She taught me how to eat, too, which I think is more important, because if you don’t know how to eat, you don’t know how to cook. Food was how my family connected to each other, how we celebrated and how we talked to each other.” Here, she shares the story behind her love of cooking and her favorite recipes for summer entertaining.

“You can only really get freshly shucked peas in Vancouver in the summer. They’re sweet and crunchy, and you don’t have to cook them. This salad is very rustic. There’s not a lot of preparation; you just toss it all together at the last minute.”

“Getting fresh local shrimp in Vancouver is what makes our season. I remember being in Tofino and buying spot prawns from a fisherman’s boat. You rip the heads off and just throw them in the water and let the gulls take them. This is a West Coast version of a lobster roll, but with shrimp instead.”

“Any other time of year, you just can’t get the corn you do in the summer, so I look forward to it. I like to roast it in the husk, which steams it a bit and helps maintain its juicy texture. It’s also easier. You literally stick the corn in the oven and leave it. Then dress it with salt, pepper and lime.”

“In the summertime, I love fruit desserts. I’ve eaten a lot of desserts in my life and I just don’t crave chocolate layer cakes or caramel peanut-butter concoctions anymore. I tend to prefer ice cream, sorbets or fruits — things like that. If there’s a savory element, even better. I’ll be making this cake for all my summer gatherings.”